Austin Capitol Area

The Texas Capitol is the third building to serve as home to state politicians and civil servants. The first structure was built in 1853 but by 1881 the people wanted to build a new one. The old one was burnt down and the offices of government moved to temporary quarters across the street. The new building was completed in 1888. The building was touched up and expanded in the 1990s, building an extension underneath and toward the north. The Sunset Red granite is striking and distinctive. The four-block grounds on which it is situated is home to plenty of trees and memorials.

Texas Capitol from the edge of Capitol Square

South entrance

By the south entrance is an old drinking fountain that is no longer in use, except as a light post.

Drinking fountain

Inside the south entrance is a foyer with statues of Stephen F. Austin (who is known as "The Father of Texas") and Sam Houston (who fought for Texas independence and was the first president of the Republic of Texas).

Stephen Austin

Sam Houston

The Rotunda features portraits of the governors of Texas, with the most recent at the bottom. Once a new one is elected, all the pictures have to move up one! There's still plenty of space at the top.

Rotunda with tour guide

A bust of the first female governor, Miriam Ferguson, is on display. She served two non-consecutive terms (1925-1927 and 1933-1935). Her husband had been governor from 1915-1917, so she quipped on the campaign trail that she was a "two for the price of one" deal. Ferguson was also the second woman to serve as governor of any U.S. state, though Nellie Tayloe Ross won her election in Wyoming on the same day and was sworn in two weeks earlier than Ferguson, so she is the first female governor by a small margin. 

Miriam Feguson

The dome reaches up 218 feet. The tour guide said that the Statue of Liberty could fit inside the rotunda! The star at the top is eight feet across.

Dome

Our tour took us to the Senate Chamber. Thirty-one senators come to work with the House of Representatives to craft legislation. The upper galley is open to anyone who wants to see the proceedings.

Senate Chamber

The desks are the original desks from the 1800s, though they have been modified. The ink wells now hold microphones for the senators and a phone is installed on the left leg of the desk. Senators choose their own seats, with senior senators getting first choice. So the parties are mixed on the floor. The guide said that they still vote by hand. One finger is a "yes" vote; two fingers is a "no" vote; three fingers is a "present but not voting" gesture.

Desk

The back of the room has two large paintings by Henry Arthur McArdle (1836-1908). I took a picture of Dawn at the Alamo.

Dawn at the Alamo

Across the hall is the House of Representatives Chamber. It's the largest room in the Capitol. 150 representatives work here. We were unable to go in because the room was temporarily closed (maybe because of the flight of the Texas Democrats in July 2021 when we visited?).

Temporarily closed or out of order?

Our tour took us to the new extension where we could view the dome from the outside. On top of the dome is the Goddess of Liberty. The original statue was weather-worn and thus replaced in the 1990s by helicopter! The original statue is in the Bullock Texas State History Museum just north of the Capitol.

Dome with Goddess of Liberty on top

Picture of the restoration

The grounds of the Texas Capitol have several statues and memorials scattered through the twenty-two acres that make up Capitol Square. The weather was beastly hot, so we only saw a few things. The Volunteer Firemen Memorial was striking to me.

Volunteer Firemen memorial

Close-up of the fireman statue

Terry's Texas Rangers monument is nearby. 

Terry's Texas Rangers statue

On the periphery of the square is The Price of Liberty, a recent statue dedicated to those who have died in service since September 11, 2001.

The Price of Liberty

We also stopped in at the Capitol Visitors Center which has some displays about Texas history. I couldn't resist taking a picture of the food of Texas!

Whattaburger, cookbook, and Blue Bell ice cream

The Capitol is recreated in Legos!

Lego Capitol building

A model of the rotunda and dome shows how it was put together.

Rotunda model

The wrought iron grille below was originally in the Capitol's South Foyer and protected an original copy of the Texas Declaration of Independence. Texas Secretary of State Jane McCallum found the document in 1927 and the display was commissioned. When the 1990s restoration happened at the Capitol, the original 1880s appearance required the removal of the grille.

Texas Independence!

Upstairs, a walk-through display showed what life was like for the first settlers coming to Texas. People were drawn to the Republic of Texas by land offers. Simple houses were built and the fledgling country grew.

Log cabin decorations/useful tools

A good variety of period costume are also on display.

I'd rather wear the right outfit

More outfits

We saw the outside of the Texas Library and Archives. The seals on the outside of the building represent the six countries that have ruled over the land. First, Spain held the territory, then France, then Mexico, then the Republic of Texas, then the Confederate States, then the United States. That's the order of the seals, obviously Texas was part of the United States before joining the Confederacy.

Back of the Library and Archives

Nearby is the Catholic Saint Mary Cathedral. We were sick the weekend we visited, otherwise we'd have gone to Mass there. It's quite impressive from the outside. 

Saint Mary Cathedral

The back of the cathedral